Stock Downgrades: Lights Go Out on General Electric

Wall Street ratings agencies set the tone for today's stock market.

Stay Connected

You know things are bad when Iceland, unlikely epicenter of the 2008 financial crisis, and Greece, current poster child for economic failure, are the only markets in all of Europe that actually increased on the week.

The worldwide tale of woe ultimately encompassed America, where stocks posted their worst performance of the year, but it originated in China. Eight is a lucky number over there whereas in the west it is seven that is seen as fortunate. Hence Beijing reporting a growth rate of "only" 7.7%, instead of the expected 8%, sent shares slumping.

Some equities did buck a bad tape. Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) gained 7.1% and is now up some 56% since October alone. An investment bigwig recently said its "gourmet burrito is an oxymoron," but the company would likely return the compliment on him, maybe minus the first two syllables of the last word.

This morning in economics, March existing home sales are expected to increase from the prior month's pace at 10:00 a.m. Eastern. Peak earnings week is upon us, with today's key results due to include Caterpillar (CAT), Halliburton (HAL), Hasbro (HAS), Netflix (NFLX), Texas Instruments (TXN), and Zions Bancorp (ZION).

Alkermes (ALKS): Lazard Capital lowers the company to Neutral from Buy.

CoreSite Realty (COR): COR is cut to Equal Weight from Overweight at Evercore.

General Electric (GE): The key Dow (^DJI) component, which fell 4.06% on Friday after issuing earnings, is now Neutral from Overweight at JPMorgan. The target is taken to $22 from $24 amid smaller profit margins and slower growth.

The information on this website solely reflects the analysis of or opinion about the performance of securities and financial markets by the writers whose articles appear on the site. The views expressed by the writers are not necessarily the views of Minyanville Media, Inc. or members of its management. Nothing contained on the website is intended to constitute a recommendation or advice addressed to an individual investor or category of investors to purchase, sell or hold any security, or to take any action with respect to the prospective movement of the securities markets or to solicit the purchase or sale of any security. Any investment decisions must be made by the reader either individually or in consultation with his or her investment professional. Minyanville writers and staff may trade or hold positions in securities that are discussed in articles appearing on the website. Writers of articles are required to disclose whether they have a position in any stock or fund discussed in an article, but are not permitted to disclose the size or direction of the position. Nothing on this website is intended to solicit business of any kind for a writer's business or fund. Minyanville management and staff as well as contributing writers will not respond to emails or other communications requesting investment advice.